Faith in the Force
by Philip S
Summary: BtVS Star Wars Crossover: Sometimes it is the Purest that are corrupted by evil and become what they once fought. And sometimes only those who have felt the touch of evil on their own souls are able to fight back.
1. Dark Heart of the Galaxy

**Faith in the Force**  
by Philip S.

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Summary: Sometimes the purest are corrupted by evil. And sometimes only those who have known evil personally can fight for good.  
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and associated characters are property Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. All things Star Wars belong to George Lucas and 20th Century Fox. I own nothing but the idea for this story.

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**Chapter 1: Dark Heart of the Galaxy**

Faith had little attention to spare for the two crimson-red guards that were walking on either side of her. Oh, she was acutely aware of them at all times. Her Slayer senses were fully active and had already taken their measure. They were quite tough, but she could take them down if the necessity arose. Right now, though, they were taking her exactly where she needed to go, so there was no need to hurt them. Yet.

The long passageway they were walking through was all grey metal, dark and foreboding. More than the ominous colour scheme, though, there was an atmosphere to the place that sent chills down Faith's spine. The end of the corridor, the chamber beyond, was steeped in darkness. And she wasn't talking about the lack of proper lighting.

"You should hire an interior decorator," she punned, more to distract herself than anything else. "I've stayed in some shitty dives, but you're really pushing it."

The guards said nothing, just kept on walking. Faith didn't say anything else, either. Punning had never been her thing, after all. She'd always been more into innuendo and sexual jibes. So she kept on walking as well, her boots creaking on the cold metal floor.

Finally they reached the end of the corridor and a large, reinforced door slid back to reveal the giant chamber beyond. She'd been told that it had once been the office of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, right next door to the Assembly Chamber of the Republic Senate. There was no more Republic, though, and no Senate. The walls between the two rooms had been torn down and everything converted into what it was today. A throne room.

Faith almost stumbled as she stepped inside, the air was so thick with... evil. There was no other way to describe it, really. Every single molecule in this chamber seemed suffused with darkness and malevolence. Her Slayer senses were screeching in her head, every inch of her body was tensed as her eyes flashed this way and that, looking for the source of all that foulness with the intent to slay it as quickly as possible.

She'd been told what the source of all this evil was, but she hadn't believed it. Not until now.

"Welcome, Faith," a voice filled with dark amusement rang out. "I've been expecting you."

Faith's eyes travelled up the many steps that led to the simple black throne standing before the giant picture window that made up the far side of the chamber. A figure was rising from the throne, dressed in black robes that hid how tiny the person wearing them actually was. Not that her lack of stature lessened her in any way. The power radiating off her more than made up for that. Faith was looking at the Empress of an entire galaxy.

And her face was quite familiar.

"B," she whispered, not ready to believe what she was seeing.

Dark green eyes peered out at her from underneath a black hood. The Empress slowly moved the hood back, a brief shake of her head causing a cascade of blond hair to settle more properly on her shoulders. She was beautiful, a terrible beauty that made men and women all over the galaxy beg for mercy. Laughter rang out from her blood-red lips, every sound tearing into Faith like a knife edge as the very air around seemed to shiver in abject terror.

"I do miss that old nickname," the Empress said. "But I believe it would be more proper if you addressed me by my new name, Faith."

The Empress that had once been a girl called Buffy Summers walked towards Faith and the dark-haired Slayer had to suppress the violent urge to either flee or attack this... this dark thing before her.

"I am the Empress Sumar," the blonde said, her eyes darkening. "And now you will kneel before me."

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Two days earlier:

Faith refused to believe it. No way could they be telling the truth. They were talking about B of all people. Ms. Goody two-shoe herself. The blonde, perky defender of decent folk and puppies everywhere.

Sure, she'd been through more shit and pain than most other people. Then again, Faith herself hadn't had a good life and she had taken her own spill into darkness, only to come back out and back to the right side of things. She had to admit, though, her situation was quite the reverse of Buffy's. Faith's life had been shit and becoming the Slayer had made it better, no matter that it had taken her quite some time to get a handle on herself. For B, though, just about everything bad that had ever happened to her had been directly linked to being the Slayer. So many sacrifices in the name of an uncaring world.

If it was true, could the Powers actually be surprised that she had finally gone bonkers?

The Powers' messenger boy, Whistler, had warned her about this place she was sent to. A galaxy far, far away, he'd said. A place of Science-Fiction type technology and stuff, but also a place possessing its own kind of magic, which was different from the stuff they had back home on Earth. This different type of magic - this Force as it was called - was sharply divided into a light and a dark side. And the dark side sang to those who gave in to their emotions.

"Are you sure you picked the right girl?" she asked the person next to her. They were standing on the bridge of a star ship. A fucking star ship. The big view screen in front of her showed nothing but stars upon stars.

"You can feel it already, can't you?" her companion asked.

Faith looked over him again. His name, she'd been told, was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Once he had been a kind of champion of this place. What had they called it? A Jedi, right. Something like a Slayer, but with more high-tech weapons and without that stupid 'one-girl-in-all-the-world' rule. Okay, there were thousands of worlds here that needed protection, so maybe it actually evened out to one per world at the end.

"Yeah, I can," she answered his question.

It was this stupid Force he was talking about and she could feel it quite well. This whole place stank of magic, it suffused every living thing around her. And she could hear the siren song of what they called the dark side, too. Give in to your rage, it seemed to whisper to her, and you will be given power beyond belief.

As little as five years ago she would have done so without too much hesitation. She'd been angry at everything, the entire world, and mostly herself. Self-hatred, despair, uncontrolled rage, these things had defined her. Sending the girl she had been here would have been like throwing a lit match into a bucket of gasoline.

She was no longer that girl, though. Time had changed her. She just wondered if it had changed her enough.

"We don't need a goody two-shoe," she remembered Whistler saying when he sent her here. "We tried that with blondie and it blew up in our faces like nobody's business. We made the same mistake all those old Jedi made. The dark side can't be defeated by someone who has never tasted it. Only someone who has gone through the darkness herself can do that. Someone like you."

"This is a mistake," Obi-Wan said, tearing her out of her memories. "If you go to her now, you will not survive."

"Maybe," Faith admitted. "But I can't do it any other way, Obi. You're telling me that B, the best fighter for good we ever had, is now the big bad around these parts. I don't believe it. I simply can't. I have to see it with my own two eyes. I just have to."

Obi-Wan nodded, not in agreement, but in understanding.

"She is no longer the girl you once knew, Faith. The good woman that Buffy Summers once was is dead. She became Darth Sumar."

His eyes locked with hers and she felt a chill all the way down to her soul. "And for sake of all worlds, yours and ours, she must be brought low."

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End Chapter 1


	2. How We Fell

**Chapter 2: How We Fell**

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The Past:

Buffy Summers had never made it out of the collapsing Hellmouth. The First had been defeated, its army of Uber-vampires burnt to ashes, all its plans brought to ruin. All over the world girls that'd had the potential to one day become the Slayer found themselves imbued with a strength not of this world. The balance between good and evil had shifted forever and the good guys were now ahead by leaps and bounds.

None of which did anything to ease the sorrow of those that did make it out of Sunnydale: Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenburg, Xander Harris, Robin Wood, Andrew Wells, Dawn Summers, and Faith Lehane, along with the surviving Potentials-turned-Slayers. All of them looked back at the devastation that had once been a town and could think only of those they had left behind. Chief among them the golden Slayer that had led them to victory.

Things moved fast afterwards. There were now thousands of Slayers all over the world, thousands of teenage girls that needed someone to tell them what they were and to teach them to get a handle on their new powers. The old Watchers Council, a group of greedy old men who had long lost sight of their organisation's original goals, had been blown to smithereens by agents of the First. It was the dawn of a new day.

For Faith, now the oldest living Slayer and last of the original line, it meant being thrust into a position of leadership she had never asked for, nor felt competent to handle. Her one attempt at leadership during the battles in Sunnydale had almost ended in disaster. Now she was supposed to guide a thousand girls instead of just a dozen or two?

No one was more surprised than herself when she found herself stepping up and doing a decent job. Sure, she had lots of help from the people around her, but there were some things only a Slayer could teach to another Slayer and it wasn't long before even those newly called Slayers who had witnessed her failure in Sunnydale found themselves looking up at her in admiration. Faith was truly coming into her own as Slayer Prime, as she was now called.

The memory of the woman who should have stood in her place continued to haunt her, though. Buffy should have survived. She had died twice before and hadn't let it stop her, why hadn't she made it through this time?

The years passed quickly. The world was safer than it had ever been before. The forces of darkness, it seemed, were in full retreat. This worried the leaders of the New Council of Watchers and Slayers more than they were prepared to admit. For they had long accepted that light and darkness, good and evil, were like night and day. Neither could exist without the other, neither would ever go away completely.

So when Faith arrived at the Council HQ one morning and found herself facing the demon known only as Whistler, she realized that the other shoe was about to drop. She just didn't except to be a quite that big a shoe.

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Two days ago:

"Her arrival was accompanied by a great ripple in the Force," Obi-Wan explained, doing his best to bring this strange newcomer up to speed on the events surrounding Darth Sumar's ascension. "Those of the Jedi Order that could use the Force to catch glimpses of the future predicted she would be instrumental in bringing down the Sith Lord that had plagued us all for so long. Looking back, I guess they were right about that. Just not in the way we thought they would be."

The woman known as Faith simply watched, the disbelief still quite evident on her face. He knew little about her, only that she had apparently known the woman once called Buffy Summers in another life and had been sent here to stop her. Only she had trouble believing that her friend had actually become what Obi-Wan knew she was.

"She joined the Jedi who were attempting to find out the Sith Lord's identity," Obi-Wan continued. "At that time the Clone Wars had just begun and chaos reigned across the galaxy. The Jedi were made into warriors and generals, something we had never intended to be, and the dark side was clouding everything around us. We were, I fear, quite blind to what was really going on."

"What about B?" Faith asked. "How did she take suddenly finding herself in this place?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, the memories floating to the surface quite unbidden. "She seemed to be... resigned, I think is the best term. Unhappy, but accepting. As if such things had happened to her before. You must understand, the Jedi Order had grown... inflexible and restrictive by then, I see that now. I didn't then. We treated Summers like we would have a Jedi Knight. We were, I'm afraid, quite blind to the turmoil going on inside of her."

Only now, in hindsight, did Obi-Wan have an inkling of what had really happened all these years ago. Buffy Summers had been a warrior for the light side on her own world for many years and had been quite battle weary. Then, at the end of yet another great battle, she had been transported to Obi-Wan's world, apparently at the hands of some kind of superior beings and without her consent, to aid in the fight against the darkness of the Sith.

What neither her own masters nor the Jedi Council had considered or realised, though, was how frustrated and tired Buffy Summers had been already. And hailing from a world where the Force apparently worked in different ways than it did here, that state of mind had left her extremely vulnerable to the lure of the dark side.

"By the time we learned that the entire Clone Wars had been instigated by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who turned out to be the Sith Lord we had sought for so long, it was too late."

"What happened to B?" Faith asked.

"I am not sure. I wasn't there when it all went down. I was running around the galaxy like a fool, looking for enemies who were actually hidden but a stroll away from our own home. From what I could piece together afterwards... my Padawan student, Anakin Skywalker, was apparently the one to figure out Palpatine's true identity and agenda. He reported to the Jedi Council and our strongest Masters went to confront and arrest Palpatine.

"By that time, though, your friend, Buffy, had already switched sides. I am note sure when exactly she fell under Palpatine's influence, but she stood with him when he battled the Masters. Together they slaughtered them. She then led a troop of clone warriors into the Jedi temple and exterminated every living thing within its walls. Including Anakin."

He paused, needing a moment to regain its composure. He knew that Anakin had ventured close to the dark side himself, knew he had been tempted. He was certain, though, that his student, his friend, his brother, would have triumphed eventually. He had never gotten the chance, though.

"Most of the Jedi were killed by the clone troopers then, shot in the back by the very troops they had been conscripted to command. A few of us managed to escape and we returned to Coruscant to try and pick up the pieces."

He swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "Yoda, the oldest and most powerful of us all, went to confront Palpatine himself. The fight was recorded by security cameras and later used to brand us traitors in the eye of the public for trying to assassinate the Chancellor. It was Buffy Summers, now calling herself Darth Sumar, who killed Master Yoda. Only hours later Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the galaxy."

He looked at Faith, seeing the disbelief still in her eyes. He could understand her. Apparently she and Buffy Summers had been quite close.

"That was eighteen years ago," Obi-Wan concluded his story. "Six years later Palpatine died. As far as the public is concerned he was killed when one of the surviving Jedi traitors broke into the Imperial Palace and assassinated him. The truth is, though, that Darth Sumar killed him herself. That is the way of the Sith. The apprentice kills the master to take his place. Now she is empress of the galaxy and her rule is absolute."

"That isn't B," Faith said, shaking her head. "She and I weren't exactly best friends, but I know her. There is no way she could have done what you're telling me."

Obi-Wan shook his head. It appeared that there was really but one way to convince his new ally of the truth, no matter how stupid an idea it might be.

"We'll arrive on Coruscant tomorrow, Faith. Then you can see for yourself."

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The Present:

"This isn't you, B," Faith whispered, looking into the eyes of her sister Slayer, desperately searching for a hint of humanity in the depths of those hazel orbs.

A cruel smile played across the Empress' crimson lips.

"I believe I told you," she began, the air around her crackling with malevolence, "to KNEEL!"

Something invisible slammed into Faith with terrible force, wrapping itself around her throat and shoulders like a constricting snake. She couldn't even scream before her air was cut off completely. A giant weight settled itself cruelly onto her shoulders and forced her to fall to her hands and knees, her joints screaming out in pain as they hit the cold metal floor hard.

Empress Sumar stood above the trembling form of her former sister-in-arms and laughed.

"There now, isn't that better?"

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End Chapter 2


	3. Arrivals

**Chapter 3: Arrivals**

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The Present:

Faith collapsed to the floor, unable to draw breath. The dark power that constricted more and more around her throat was squeezing the life right out of her and her vision began to dim. So this was it then? Obi-Wan had warned her, hadn't he? The crazy old hermit had been right about everything. Coming here meant death.

Suddenly the pressure around her neck eased and sweet, sweet air was once again available to her lungs. Greedily she pumped it in, unable to do anything else.

"So the old man still lives, does he?" a chuckling voice reached her ear. For a moment her oxygen-starved brain was unable to figure out who was talking and about what.

Invisible hands picked her up roughly and Faith found herself hovering inches above the metal floor, her body held immobile by a force that could have pulverized her bones with ease. She couldn't even blink.

Empress Sumar still smiled, but her eyes were cold as death.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Faith. Where is he?"

Faith's eyes widened. How could she know...?

"Your thoughts betray you, Faith," Sumar said, chuckling. "It is no more difficult to read your mind, little sister, than it is to control your body. So tell me, where is the old man? I would love to meet him and chat about old times."

It took every erg of will power Faith had not to think about Obi-Wan and where the old man was. Instead she focused her thoughts on Buffy. The Buffy she remembered, the Buffy she had respected, even adored secretly.

"Oh please," Sumar scoffed. "You think you can distract me that easily, Faith?"

With no clear idea how she had gotten there Faith found herself kneeling on the cold floor once more. Sumar stood directly before her and placed her hands on either side of Faith's head. The Slayer struggled, tried to break the hold this evil thing had on her, but it was for naught. Her supernaturally-enhanced muscles were helpless before the strength that was holding her still.

"Now, now, Faith," Sumar chided her, nails digging into the soft flesh of Faith's temples. "This will hurt less if you don't try to resist."

And then Faith knew nothing but pain as Sumar forced herself into her mind.

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Four days ago:

The man once known as Obi-Wan Kenobi, General of the Army of the Republic and Jedi Master, now simply called Ben, returned to his humble abode in the Jundland Wastes, deep in thought. Things were not progressing as he had expected them to. Then again, things hadn't gone his way for a good long while now, so why should he be surprised.

Unbidden, his thoughts focused on the many painful memories he carried around with him. Those terrible days when the Republic went down in flames and emerged as a cruel, absolutist Empire. The days when so many of his friends and comrades died. Yoda, Windu, Anakin, so many others.

The one glimmer of hope left had been Padmé and the twins she'd carried in her womb. Even unborn Obi-Wan had been able to sense the great potential in the Force these two had. Inheritors of Anakin's strength, he had realised that they might well be the only hope the galaxy had. So he had pushed aside his grief and despair to hide them.

Padmé hadn't been happy to see them separated, that much was for sure. But they had shone too brightly in the Force. If they'd remained together Palpatine - and then Sumar - would have found them in an instant. So Padmé had taken Leia with her to Alderaan, while Luke was here in Tatooine in the care of the Lars family with Ben around to keep an eye on him.

What he hadn't factored in, though, was Owen Lars' feelings about everything that had gone down. The man blamed the Jedi in general and Obi-Wan in particular for the death of his step-mother Shmi and his step-brother Anakin. Once he realised that Obi-Wan intended for Luke to become a Jedi as well, he threw Obi-Wan off his homestead and warned him never to return lest he call the Empire down upon him.

Which left Obi-Wan at a bit of a loss. Sure, with his strength in the Force he could simply walk into the homestead and take Luke with him, but that way was the dark side. Besides, unless he was willing to kill Owen, Obi-Wan was sure the man would keep his promise and alert the Empire. And the last thing Obi-Wan could afford was for the Empress to learn that he still lived.

There was still Leia, of course, but no matter how powerful she might become, she alone would not be enough to defeat someone like Sumar, who had slain the most powerful of Jedi and Sith with ridiculous ease. No, he needed them both if there was to be any hope of success. But how to accomplish that?

As if in answer to his question, Obi-Wan suddenly felt a great ripple in the Force. The feeling was so intense it almost bent him double. Despite the onslaught of sensations, he could focus enough to recognise them. He had felt something like this before. On the day the girl who would become the Empress Sumar had stepped into their lives. Cold dread filled his being.

"Ow, fuckin' bastard," someone yelled. "You could've warned me about the rough ride, you stupid asshole!"

Quickly running out of his hut, his light sabre at the ready, Obi-Wan found a woman sitting in the sand outside. She was about twenty-five years of age and had dark hair, her body clothed in tight-fitting fabric of some kind. And she was currently going through an impressive repertoire of swear words, most of them unfamiliar to Obi-Wan, while rubbing her obviously aching rear end.

"Excuse me," he finally said when the swearing showed no signs of being over anytime soon.

She looked up, dark brown eyes meeting his own, and Obi-Wan almost took a step back. There was something wild and powerful in those eyes. She was strong in the Force, he could already feel that, but there was something more. Something he had seen but once before.

His grip on his light sabre tightened.

"Don't tell me," the woman said, climbing to her feet and brushing off sand. "You're this Obi guy they told me to meet. So what's the what, old guy? Where's B?"

Obi-Wan could only stare at her in incomprehension.

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At the same time:

The hologram flickered to life and showed the Empress Sumar sitting in her throne room on Coruscant.

"You have felt it, too, I assume?" she began without preamble.

"Yes, my Empress," her servant said. "A great ripple in the Force. Much like the one that preceded your own arrival in this galaxy."

"It took those meddling Powers a long time to react," Sumar said, snickering. "I wonder who they sent."

"I will find out, my Empress. The ripple occurred on the planet Tatooine. Which is where my spies tell me the stolen plans are headed as well."

The Empress nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. Find out what you can. But bringing back the plans remains your first priority. I have a feeling that whoever arrived today will end up on my doorstep sooner or later anyway."

"I will do as you say, my Empress."

"I know you will, Lord Vader. I know you will."

The hologram died and Darth Vader rose to his feet, as always ready and eager to serve his Empress.

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End Chapter 3


	4. Divergent Paths

Chapter 4: Divergent Paths

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The Present:

Like a black tide the mind of the woman once known as Buffy Summers flooded into Faith's thoughts and ripped through her defences like they weren't even there. The Force, Faith remembered being told, is an energy field that connects all living things. Like magic, only more potent and far more seductive and dangerous. The Empress Sumar used the Force to push her own mind into Faith's, intending to find out anything and everything the younger woman knew.

In an instant Sumar saw everything that had transpired in the world she left behind. How Faith became leader of the Slayers, how an army of Chosen Ones pushed back the forces of darkness almost to extinction.

Sumar's chuckles echoed through the corridors of Faith's mind.

"Not so different, are we?" she mused, her thoughts like words to Faith. "You brought order to our world, I brought order to this one. We were given power and we used it."

"I am nothing like you," Faith tried to scream, but her words fell silent.

"No, you are not, little sister. Not yet. You are still afraid to use your power to its fullest extent. You are scared of becoming like those you extinguish, not realizing you are and always will be so much more than they could ever hope to be. We are masters of our own destiny, but you are content with the position of a slave to those so-called Powers."

Faith wanted to answer, wanted to deny, but Sumar pierced every barrier she put up, dredged up every single bit of frustration and self-doubt Faith ever experienced and shoved it into her face.

"They gave you power and expect you to fight and die to protect their precious balance. An entire life spent and what is the best you can hope to accomplish? That everything remains as it is. No better, no worse, just the same. Is that what you want written on your tombstone, Faith? 'She saved the status quo a lot?' Is that going to be your requiem?"

Her blood seemed to freeze as dark wings spread through her mind, her very soul. Thoughts and memories not her own spilled into her consciousness, forcing her to see, to hear, to experience.

"You still can't believe it's me, right?" Sumar laughed. "You want to know how I became this way, little sister? Watch and learn!"

--

Twenty years ago:

She has been in this stupid world for two years now. Two years of fighting yet another war she has never chosen. But then again, when was she ever allowed to choose? She is the Chosen One, isn't she? Meaning someone else did the choosing, not her. Never her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the man beside her says, distracting her from her thoughts.

Glancing to her side, she takes a moment to study the man called Palpatine. As Supreme Chancellor of the Republic he is arguably the most powerful man in this galaxy. And it is her job to protect him. A job given to her by the Jedi Council. Oh, and how she has started to hate Councils of all sorts. They are never any good.

Two years since she was sent here with a mission: Find the evil mage known as Darth Sidious before he can... well, do something really bad or something. She didn't really pay all that much attention, she'd still been too furious. They'd ripped her out of her own world, denied her what should have been her final death and return to the peace she'd once known. And they expected her to follow orders like a good little girl.

And the worst thing? She is a good little girl. She is following orders. At this point in time she isn't sure whether it's those stupid Powers or herself she's more annoyed with.

"I'm not a big fan of opera," she answers Palpatine, who was referring to the performance they are here to watch. Or he's here to watch, more precisely. She's here to protect him, because they are rumours that Darth Sidious and/or the Confederacy leaders are planning to kidnap and/or kill Palpatine.

She kind of hopes they give it a try. Maybe then she can finally find and kill this Sidious and return home. If they let her. If they haven't thought of something else for her to do by now.

"No, I imagine the kind of life you have led left very little time for the beautiful things," Palpatine says, his voice dripping sympathy.

Palpatine is one of but a handful of people outside the Jedi Council who know her story. Where she came from, why she's here, how she's different from the Jedi she pretends to belong to. It was necessary to inform him, even though the Jedi weren't too wild about it, seeing as he had to accept her as bodyguard.

"I don't need your pity," she replies sharply. For some reason she can't quite figure out her temper has grown more and more vicious over the last few months. Whether it's her growing frustration, the endless carnage of the Clone Wars, or something else she can not say.

"I do not offer pity," Palpatine replies serenely. "I am just curious. I have long studied the Jedi and their powers. I have come to understand a great many things about them. And I can't really understand why you try to fit into their rather rigid system of rules and regulations."

"What do you mean?" she asks, confused.

"The Jedi, for all the good they have done for this galaxy, are a dying breed. Their numbers have dwindled even before the war began to take its toll. Unsurprising, really. Any society as inflexible and opposed to change as they are will sooner or later fade from the pages of history."

Seeing he has caught her interest, he continues. "Take the Force, for example. The Jedi profess to be masters of it, but are they really? They rigidly cling to what they perceive as the light side of the Force and forbid everything that might even hint at the dark side. No emotions are allowed, all personal attachments forbidden. Is it really any wonder they can't seem to find this Lord of the Sith they seek so desperately? That they can't seem to overcome the dark side of the Force? How can you overcome an enemy if you refuse to learn anything about him? How can you defeat someone when you avoid all knowledge that might aid you?"

Palpatine's words stir something inside herself. In so many ways the Jedi are like the Council of Watchers. They have been given stewardship of a great power. They have learned some aspects of it and are content with that. They cling to rules and regulations laid down thousands of years ago, no matter how stupid or outdated they are. They forbid attachments; they see the world in black and white.

The Watchers Council would have killed Angel if they could have, she knows that. They would have killed Faith, too, if she hadn't stopped them. They would have had her kill Willow as well, had they known about her attempt to end the world.

And always they use others as tools, not interested in what they might want out of life. The Powers are just like these two Councils, she realizes. No one ever asked her what she wanted. No one.

"What do you want?" Palpatine asks, starting her. "What would you do if you didn't have to serve these masters of yours?"

"I... I have no idea," she admits. When was the last time anyone has ever asked her that question?

Palpatine rests a hand on her shoulder and for some reason the contact seems to make her feel... lighter. Less confined.

"There is great power inside you, Buffy Summers," he says. "I am no Jedi, but I can sense it. Power that is both light and dark. It accepts no rigid definition. It can not be labelled. If you were to open yourself to it, you would no longer be a slave, but master of your own destiny."

Ever since coming here she has felt it in the back of her mind. The allure of power. The Force, as she has come to know it. The Jedi have taught her how to access the light side. Impressive, but really nothing she hasn't seen before. Moving objects with your mind, getting visions, influencing the weak-willed people. Willow could do most of what these Jedi can and much more besides.

She has always felt that there is more power out there, but she has shied away from it. The Powers warned her against it, this 'dark side' as they call it. The Jedi did so, too. And she is Buffy Summers, after all. She doesn't do the bad things. She kills even her own lover if he slips into darkness. She battles her best friend if she happens to become evil. She is the warrior of the light. The darkness is her enemy.

Now, though, she wonders.

"You have so much left to learn about yourself and the power you have been given, Buffy Summers," Palpatine says. "Do you really think you can learn it from the Jedi? Do you really think they will allow you to learn it?"

--

The Present:

"He was correct," Sumar laughed as the memory swept over Faith. "The dark side offered me powers the likes of which I had never even imagined. It is my emotions that give me strength. The Jedi always denied their emotions. The Watchers shaped their Slayers into mindless automations with no connection to the world. The Powers want nothing but faithful champions that do their bidding for the so-called greater good."

"You are ranting like a comic-book villain, B," Faith chokes out, barely able to retain any coherent thoughts before the onslaught of Sumar's black mind.

"And what if I am, Faith? I am free, finally free. I am my own master. I have been given power and I use it as I see fit. I shape this world to my own design and one day soon I will find the means to return to Earth and do the same there. No more balance, no more small victories. Mine is a world of order."

"In which you decide who lives and who dies? Who died and made you God, B?"

Sumar laughs and the sound causes Faith almost physical pain.

"No one ever 'makes' you God, Faith. You can only do that yourself."

Whatever reply Faith would have thought off was cut off as Sumar resumed her merciless rummaging through Faith's mind. No stone was left unturned, no memory left alone, even as Faith was forced to watch scene after scene of Buffy descending into darkness.

Finding out Palpatine was Darth Sidious and joining him instead of telling the Jedi, always with the intent of killing him once she had enough power to do so.

Being introduced to the dark side, which spoke to the demonic power of the Slayer inside of her.

Forging more and more power from the pent-up hatred and frustration Buffy harboured for so very long.

Killing the Jedi, whose refusal to acknowledge their own darkness proved to be their downfall.

Finally toppling Palpatine, who realized too late that he had unleashed a power even someone as mighty as him had no hope of controlling or taming.

Becoming Empress and subduing a galaxy.

"Seen enough?" Sumar finally asked as Faith felt her sanity threaten to break like cheap glass.

"How could you become like this?" Faith whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks where she was held immobile in Sumar's throne room.

"How could I not? You were my role-model, little sister. You weren't afraid of your power, you revelled in it. The only difference is that I didn't allow it to destroy me. I took control of it and now I am free."

Faith felt Sumar's mind wrap around hers like a dark shroud, an embrace both gentle and ice-cold at the same time.

"Join me, Faith! Stick it to the Powers! I can teach you what it really means to be the Slayer. And really, learning all that I have learned is the only way you even have a chance in Hell of beating me."

Faith cried out in denial even as she felt the truth in Sumar's words. One could not defeat the darkness without getting to know it. Hadn't she already learned that lesson?

"You will join me," Sumar whispers to her. "In time."

Back in the solid world Faith suddenly found herself free of the terrible force that held her still, crumbling to the ground in a boneless heap.

"Take her away," she heard Sumar order the red guards. "I will deal with her later."

As she was dragged away like a sack of potatoes, Faith heard Sumar's parting words.

"And don't worry about Kenobi, Faith. I will let him know you are well."

End Chapter 4


	5. A Very Long Day

Chapter 5: A Very Long Day

*****

Three days ago:

Ben Kenobi, once called Obi-Wan, shook his head. He must really be getting old. Times were he'd have weathered a day like this without any problems and with a smile on his face. During the dark days of the Clone Wars he'd sometimes spent days, even weeks in a row running from one battlefield to the next with barely any rest in-between and it hadn't slowed him down any.

That had been decades ago, though. He was much older now. And despite everything else that was going on, the last two decades he'd spent here on Tatooine had been... uneventful. Maybe he should have kept up a more rigorous training routine.

So much had happened in a mere twenty-four hours. The arrival of the stranger Faith, who claimed to have been sent by some kind of higher power to help bring down the Empress Sumar (whom she called B). Before he'd even had time to process all this, more events had taken place.

His young charge Luke had arrived along with two droids, one of whom contained a message from Luke's twin sister Leia and the plans for a new Imperial super weapon. Then the Imperials had come as well and now Luke's adopted family was dead. Ben hadn't been on the best of terms with Owen and Beiru Lars, but they had been family. Not his own, of course, but those of the man he still considered a brother after all these years, Anakin. Their deaths hurt him greatly.

Ben knew they needed to get off this planet and fast. The ripple in the Force that had accompanied Faith's arrival would have been felt across the galaxy. And the Imperials wouldn't hesitate to lay waste to this entire world to make sure those plans inside the little astromech wouldn't fall into the hands of the Rebels.

As they flew towards Mos Eisley in Luke's landspeeder, Ben took a much-needed break. Would it really have been too much to ask for Bail Organa to give him some advance warning that all this was going down? Oh, by the way, I sent Padme's daughter, one of the only two people who might yet save this galaxy, on a suicide mission to steal vital data from the Empire. You don't mind, do you?

Ben shook his head. This whole Rebel Alliance thing was a half-cocked operation at best. Force of arms alone wasn't going to bring down someone like Sumar. Sighing deeply, he released his frustration into the Force. It wouldn't do to get distracted right now. Calmness, he told himself. Calmness. Somehow it didn't come to him as easily today as it had in times past.

"You okay, kid?" he heard Faith ask Luke. The young man's face was a mask of suppressed grief and anger. He'd have to let go of those emotions soon, but that was easier said than done, of course. Considering the current situation, it was probably a good thing that Ben had never had a chance to begin Luke's Force training before Owen threw him off the homestead, or the young man would feel the lure of the Dark Side very strongly right now.

"I'm fine," Luke growled between clenched teeth.

"Yeah, I can see that. Look, kid..."

"I'm not a kid, so stop calling me that," he interrupted her sharply.

For a moment Ben thought Faith would get angry at Luke, but her face remained passive, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Yeah, after the day you've had, you're probably not. Look, I know 'sorry' doesn't cut it for what you've been through today. But you've gotta keep it together better than this, okay? One ki... young man running off on his own isn't going to bring down an Empire. Believe me, I tried the whole rage-and-revenge-thing. Never works out the way you want it to. If you want to make the Empire pay, I'm with you one hundred percent. But you'll need a cool head and patience."

"She is right, young Luke," Ben agreed, a bit surprised by the wisdom in Faith's words. "At this moment in time the best way to hurt the Empire is to make sure they don't catch us or the plans. Everything else would just play into their hands."

Luke took a deep breath. He said nothing, but the tension in his shoulders relaxed a bit and one could almost see the dark cloud of anger and grief around him lessening a tiny bit. Ben was proud of the boy. Not many people that young could have endured a day like this and kept going.

"We're there," Ben said after some moments of silence. "Mos Eisley."

*****

Though it wasn't exactly her strong suite, Faith stepped back and allowed the old man Kenobi to take the lead for now. She still knew very little about this world the Powers had dumped her into. All she knew was that B was here somewhere and apparently everyone thought that she'd turned bad. Faith didn't believe it, but kept her mouth shut for now. Time and the responsibilities of being Slayer Prime had taught her patience and restraint. A little, anyway.

After that little scuffle in the bar - and boy, that light sabre thing was one impressive weapon. She wanted one! - she remained in the background as Kenobi arranged for a flight off-planet with a guy called Han Solo. Solo was one delicious-looking piece of beef, that much was for sure. And from the looks he threw her, he liked what he saw, too. Still, no time for that now. Maybe later. They did have a long flight ahead of them, didn't they?

She smiled as Luke scoffed at the price Solo demanded for the flight, but Kenobi quickly calmed the boy and they left. They would have to sell his speeder to pay, but she doubted the kid would miss anything about this planet. She certainly wouldn't. The damn sand was getting everywhere and she was already feeling slight sunburn from the merciless glare of the planet's twin suns.

Some negotiations and a hard sell later they had enough money for Solo and were headed for the hangar area. Faith fell into step with Kenobi as Luke, along with the two droids, hurried on a bit ahead of them.

"He has power, doesn't he?" Faith asked the old man. She could feel the magical potential in Luke. No, not magic. This strange Force thing everyone was talking about. Almost like magic, but not quite.

"Potentially," Kenobi agreed. "His father was possibly the most powerful Jedi ever."

There was old pain in his voice.

"A good friend?" Faith asked.

"He was my brother in all but blood," Kenobi replied. "I will see his children safe."

Faith noted the plural, but didn't inquire further. Not now. Her priorities were different.

"Once we're underway I need you to bring me up to speed on B."

"I will. I doubt you will like what I have to say, though."

"Yeah, I pretty much figured that already. If everything was fine and dandy, I wouldn't be here."

Faith paused a moment, concentrating on her senses.

"You do realize we're being followed, right?" she asked the old man.

"The hooded one to our left," he replied without turning his head. "He's been reporting on our whereabouts for some time."

"Then we better hope Captain Solo is as hot as he thinks he is, right?"

They finally reached the hangar area and saw the ship that was to take them off planet. Luke was already there and obviously not impressed.

"What a piece of junk", Luke exclaimed.

Solo came from the open airlock and gave him a dark look.

"She'll make point five beyond the speed of light. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've added some special modifications myself. We're a little rushed, so if you'll hurry aboard we'll get out of here."

Faith grinned. She liked Solo a lot. Over the years she had gotten extremely good at evaluating people. It was pretty much a survival trait in her business, where even the most innocent looking child might be a bloodthirsty monster. Solo wasn't that hard to figure out, though. Cocky, arrogant and a scoundrel on the outside, but she got the feeling he would walk through the fires of hell for those people who managed to make it onto his list of friends.

"Let's get on the ship," Kenobi said, herding Luke and the droids forward. Faith followed, giving Solo a suggestive smile. He smiled back in the same manner. Maybe there would be something to look forward to on the long flight to...

Suddenly Faith tensed and the smile vanished.

"We should hurry," she said.

Moments later the clatter of armoured feet could be heard and soldiers in white armour came running into the hangar.

"Stop that ship," one of them yelled.

Solo looked surprised, but reacted quickly. He drew his own gun even as he shoved Faith toward the airlock.

"Chewie, get us out of here," he yelled as they entered the ship, laser bolts whizzing past their heads.

The ship shuddered and rocketed upwards, Faith holding onto a handhold for dear life. People were yelling all around here. The ship shuddered as someone fired on them. She wasn't exactly used to space flight and laser fights, so she stayed out of the way and kept her head down.

As they cleared the atmosphere she found herself strapped into a seat near a view port and saw the sky darken to black. Stars were visible all around. A moment later she caught a glimpse of a huge space ship, looking like a huge grey wedge or dagger.

There was evil on that ship. Tremendously powerful evil. She could feel it clogging the back of her throat. Kenobi was hurrying past her towards the cockpit and she heard him utter something under his breath.

"Vader," he whispered, then vanished around the corner.

Moments later the ship shuddered again, the stars outside the window turned into starlines, and then the ship thundered away into hyperspace.

End Chapter 5


End file.
